At the present time, land based pumps are usually mounted on a fixed or stable base or on a flexible structure for allowing thermal contraction. When the pumps are so mounted there is little or no movement of the support base during the operation of the pumps. Standard pump securing methods and apparatus for the aforementioned land base usage is not adequate for marine vessel usage without damaging the pump. For marine usage of such a pump mounted on a ship deck or in a ship subjects the pumps to direct dynamic motion such as rolling, pitching, yawning, heaving, surging, swaying all of the time so as to cause damage to the bearings that reduces the useful life of the bearings thereby requiring support devices to be added for supporting the pump, both during periods of operation of the pump and non-operation of the pump. The pump shaft must also be protected against rotation during the intervals the pump is not operational.
An attempt to support a pump for use on the deck of a ship subject to the ship's motions is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,063,512 entitled Pump Stabilizer and Method granted on Jun. 20, 2006, on an application filed on Jun. 23, 2003. This patent resorts to a pneumatic control system exerting an upward force against a vertical disposed pump shaft during periods of non-operation of the pump for off-loading the bearing normally supporting the pump shaft. This patent further discloses a lateral support fixed to the lower end of the pressure pot housing the pump to prevent the pump housing from swinging laterally within the pressure pot but permitting axial movements. This type of lateral support located at the bottom of the pressure pot appears weak to hold the heavy pump weight (10,000-15,000 pounds) during lateral motion. The pneumatic control system disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 7,063,512 is difficult to adjust and requires an additional control unit to maintain the desired operative pressure. It also appears that the disclosed sealing of the piston of the pneumatic system may cause leaks after a period of time resulting in the need for frequent maintenance. It also appears that the installation of the pump after maintenance is a hard job that further requires expert hard installation work, as well. The patent disclosure includes an extension of the pump shaft at the top end of the vertical shaft for the manual control of the pump shaft and appears to be a back-up of the disclosed pneumatic control apparatus. The shaft extension mounts a nut for manual movement of the shaft to relieve the support bearings of stress during periods of non-use of the pump and which stress is produced due to the movements of the marine vessel. The adjustable nut must be removed, completely, during periods of operation of the pump. This manual operation structure provides additional leakage points exposed to the atmosphere. This system requires use of many sealing devices. Initially, the adjustment of the relative positions of the shaft and piston is required to be done at both normal or ambient temperatures and cold temperatures. Other practical problems appear inherently in the use of the prior art pneumatic system.